Counties not happy with state bill limiting their oil, gas drilling oversight

Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, motioned to move the bill to the Senate floor.

The Association of Idaho Counties (AIC) is frustrated with a new bill giving them limited local control for oil and gas drilling, according to the Spokesman-Review. House Bill 464 would take away nearly all of the counties' discretion involving oil and gas drilling, something AIC was asked about during the hearing Wednesday.

Kerry Ellen Elliott of AIC said they simply had no choice. “I'm going to be very blunt. If we did not compromise on this in some respect, we were not going to have any local control at all. There would have been statewide pre-emption.”

Though some control is left to the counties under this bill, counties fear the end result of such legislation will be to cede most regulatory authority to the state instead of to local government.